


A Fitting End

by User_needs_a_Username



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Blood, Blood and Gore, Blood and Injury, Canon: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Concussions, Emotional Hurt, Eventual Happy Ending, Evil, Evil Plans, Exhaustion, Family, Gen, Gore, Guns, Headaches & Migraines, Hurt, Hurt Edward Elric, Hurt/Comfort, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Injury, Kidnapping, Major Character Injury, Manga & Anime, Mild Gore, Near Death, Near Death Experiences, Parent-Child Relationship, Parental Maes Hughes, Parental Roy Mustang, Parenthood, Rescue, Restraints, Sad, Sadism, Serious Injuries, Suffering, Torture, Violence, Whump, Whumptober, Whumptober 2020
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:27:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 9,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26806594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/User_needs_a_Username/pseuds/User_needs_a_Username
Summary: Edward's been kidnapped. He has had his automail removed and can barely think through a migraine, so does that means he needs to wait to be saved? Parental RoyEd! This will be my whump-tober, multi-chapter series. It is not a series of oneshots. It is like any other multi-chapter story.
Relationships: Alphonse Elric & Edward Elric, Alphonse Elric & Edward Elric & Maes Hughes, Alphonse Elric & Edward Elric & Roy Mustang, Alphonse Elric & Maes Hughes, Alphonse Elric & Roy Mustang, Edward Elric & Maes Hughes, Edward Elric & Roy Mustang, Maes Hughes & Roy Mustang, Roy Mustang & Team Mustang
Comments: 22
Kudos: 80





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> These will be short chapters, and I understand that they're late. But I wrote them on the correct days.
> 
> I hope you like it!
> 
> Please comment!
> 
> Daily updates!

There was the heart-stopping panic of waking up with your hand tied above your head and both your automail limbs gone. It was even worse with a splitting migraine as your only company.

Edward groaned as his head pulsed in pain. With every beat his body ached more and more. Every once in a while he would shut his eyes and try to concentrate on not throwing up, but it would send him even further into a dizzying ache.

Edward wasn't exactly sure how he felt about the foot steps that he could hear coming. He knew it wasn't anything good, but he really didn't care. Whoever was coming was probably the one who restrained him and stole his automail.

Creaking hinges screeched horrifically in Edward's sensitive ears. It was not nice on his migraine. He barely felt like he could move. His body was hurting so much and the noise made his head hurt. It was just miserable. It only got worse when the newcomer slammed the door shut loudly as if really trying to be obnoxious.

Edward actually felt tears on his cheeks. He whimpered in pain.

"Fitting sound coming from you useless dog!"

Edward tried to curl in on himself as if burrowing somehow would help. He wasn't able to though because of the binding he had had on his hand. It made curling up an impossible task.

With his eyes shut tightly against his headache, Edward didn't see the steel-toed boot coming for his face. He screamed when it came into contact with his nose, though. He felt it as blood immediately began pouring from the already swelling area. He was sure it was broken. It had been a hard kick and it did nothing at all in the way of helping him with his migraine.

A knife started sawing through the rope around Edward's wrist. A spark of hope lit up in him. Someone was saving him!

He was only half aware of the fact that he had just had a shoe in his face. He remembered it of course, but the time between his small beating and the ropes being cut wasn't really long at all. It was not long enough to have been saved, but Edward didn't know that. He assumed that it must have one of Mustang's men or Mustang himself. It just hadn't sunk in that it wasn't possible unless one of them kicked him.

He almost smiled at the thought of safety and going back to Alphonse. After the Colonel got him out, he and Alphonse could go back to their research on the stone. But all hopes of this being a rescue were ruined by a strong grip on his hair a moment later.

"Come on, Fullmetal, the Colonel and I have a meeting and you're invited."


	2. Chapter 2

Edward hung limply from his plait which was, somehow, still together. It was barely staying together, though. He could feel it falling apart.

The man jerked at Edward's plait. He wasn't up to moving around any, though, so he followed the movement without a fight. He was still feeling mostly dazed.

"Come on. You need to be lively for when Mustang comes to get you. I can't have you looking like a useless, limp rag." Edward was suddenly dropped. He curled in on himself and held his head. "How pathetic. I expected more of the Fullmetal alchemist."

The man could be heard walking away, but the relief of his departure was short-lived because his departure was short-lived.

Edward pushed himself up into an awkward sitting position, leaning on his remaining hand.

"Very good. I was hoping you wouldn't play dead when Colonel Mustang sees you. He needs to know that I wasn't lying when I said you were still alive."

"Y- you actually called him?"

"Oh, he talks now too?!"

Edward opened his eyes then. He looked up at a tall man with red hair and a clean face. Sky blue eyes watched him.

"Now, let's get this doggy ready to see his master again." The man grabbed Edward's wrist and pressed it down against the floor, pressing his knee to it to keep it down. Edward saw him pull out a strip of leather. It resembled a belt, but it was much too small to be a belt for anyone.

A collar.

Edward flinched.

"You don't like it? I'm offended. I picked this out especially for you. It has little arrays because I know how much you love alchemy." A cold smirk was on his face.

Edward could feel dread pooling in his gut. This was not good. He didn't know what the arrays could do. He flinched away as the man tried to grab his hair again.

"Hey, what happened to you being so submissive?" There was a frown that was borderline threatening on his face. He obviously like how easy Edward had been before. Edward pulled away uncomfortably from unwelcome hands.

Edward felt the rough leather touch his skin, but he couldn't move any further away from it. He had already pulled away as much as he could. He thrashed as the man tried to wrap the collar around his throat. "Keep your collar to yourself!"

"It's you're collar! See!"

The collar was shoved into Edward's face, but he managed to see that on it was an identification tag. It read the word: Eddie, _Doggie of the State._

A cold laugh rang out. "Do you like it?"

Before Edward even got the chance to shout at the man, he felt the collar wrap tightly around his throat. It was yanked tighter after that so that it cut of Edward's oxygen and also his reply. He was sure that it was not going to take long for his face to turn red from a lack of oxygen.

"Oopsie. My mistake." The man loosened the collar slightly. He had the fakest sounding voice ever. It wasn't like Edward believed a word he said, but it was still faker than fake.

Edward gulped in several breaths of cool air. "What the hell?! Are you trying to kill me?!" His voice was rasping a little as he spoke. He instinctively tried to throw a punch at the man, but his arm was still trapped.

"Now, now, that shifting under my knee wasn't any kind of violence I hope?" He asked it as a question as if Edward wanted to answer him.

"Maybe it was," Edward snapped. That wasn't the only thing to snap, though. In one quick movement, the man had Edward's wrist twisted in an odd angle, going just a little past too far and earning a swift snapping sound. Edward yelped in pain, somehow managing to keep from screaming for real, as the man fixed the collar and clipped on a leash.

"You should have been a good doggie because bad doggies get punished, and you don't want that."


	3. Chapter 3

Roy Mustang checked his watch again for the millionth time in the last few minutes. He glanced around a moment later. He didn't see his lieutenant but that had been the plan from the start. It wouldn't be very helpful to have a visible sniper. It would sort of defeat the purpose of the sniper. 

The half-falling-apart-half-about-to-fall-apart warehouse before him was creaking in the wind. _Perfect. I love creepy warehouses._ He rolled his eyes and almost heard the sarcasm in his own mind's voice.

"Fullmetal, sometimes I'm tempted to leave you in these kinds of situations," Roy muttered under his breath. It wasn't that Fullmetal was always in trouble like this, but when he was, it was annoying.

The kid was smart enough not to get in these situations, but he somehow managed to get into them anyway. He wasn't careful enough sometimes.

Roy sighed, rubbing his finger and thumb together. He didn't have his gloves on, but it was a long developed habit. It had been clearly stated that Mustang was not to bring his gloves. A gun was not mentioned, though, so there was one on his side in his jacket. He also had a pair of gloves on him of course.

Two pairs actually.

One was hidden in the inner chest pocket. That would be used most likely as a fake trail.

Another was in the lining of his coat. The seam wasn't sewn together strongly, so it would be an easy thing to break through. But it didn't even look like it had been re-sown ever.

He had his First Lieutenant to thank for the gloves in his coat. She was brilliant.

Roy opened the door to the warehouse in the next moment after another glance at his watch.. The handle nearly fell off in his hands. "This is one hell of a place. I think if I breathe too deeply this place will come down in a cloud of dust."

He wasn't even in the building for a minute when he heard a voice. "Oh, welcome, Colonel Mustang!" The booming male voice echoed around the room. Roy could swear the voice was stronger to his left.

He quickly gave Riza their hand signal that would tell her that the man was to his left. She was probably already training her rifle on that area.

"Where are you, Bastard? I want my subordinate back!" Roy didn't see the man anywhere. He was probably hanging just in the shadows with Fullmetal.

"Yes, yes, in time. He's here. I'm just keeping things..." The man sounded like he was looking for a word. "Simple and keeping myself safe because I doubt you want Fullmetal to show you just what his big, brilliant brain looks like. Unless you want me to blow a hole into his head? I would be happy to help with that."

Roy heard a gun cock in the silence. "That won't be necessary," Roy tried to answer as calmly as possible.

The man chuckled. "Just as I thought. But now toss me whatever gloves you have on your person."

"We had a deal. No gloves," Roy answered.

"Don't make me laugh. The Flame Alchemist without his gloves? That's rich. I doubt that you are even alone, which goes against one of our agreements. Now toss them down at my feet. We don't want anything going wrong, now do we?" Roy envisioned the gun being pressed harder into Edward's head. It didn't help that he heard a grunt. It didn't sound like Edward, though. It sounded off.

Roy sighed reluctantly and reached into his inner breast pocket, pulling out the gloves and tossing them at the man's feet. It was mostly for show, though. "I want to see him. You told me he was alive. I don't hear him."

The man smirked at the sight of the gloves. "Yes, of course. That's only to be expected. But I can assure you that he's alive and conscious even. I think he's just a bit embarrassed, though. Isn't that right, Fullmetal?"

There was a frustrated grunt from the boy.

Roy sighed slightly. _So Fullmetal is definitely alive._

Roy was now just worried about what was up with Fullmetal. Also that he had a gun supposedly trained at his head. That was something they still had to think about. "I said I want to see him."

"Well, of course. Be patient. I'm beginning to wonder how you managed to become a Colonel."

Roy could hear the sound of choking and scraping.

A red-headed man came out of the shadows to Roy's left. Just as I thought.

He had a gun in one hand and was dragging a leash with the other.

Roy saw red when Fullmetal was dragged by the leash. The kid was keeping the collar from fully choking him with his flesh hand.

He whimpered and gasped in what was obviously pain. And Roy could see why. From where he was, he could see the broken wrist.

He swore.

Edward didn't look great. His nose was swollen and bloody. His automail was gone, leaving him two limbs down. He clearly had a broken wrist. Blood was all over Edward's chin, like he had been vomiting blood. And who knows how many bruises he had?

Fullmetal stayed silent, though, but for the muffled grunts.

"What did you do to him?"

"Fullmetal, why don't you tell him?" The man smirked. "Oh, yes. Should I give him the gift first?"

Edward didn't even try to answer.

The man dug into his pocket tossed whatever he pulled out on the ground in front of Roy so that it landed between his feet With a soft, nearly impossible to hear, thud.

Roy stared down at it in absolute horror. This was not what he had expected at all.


	4. Chapter 4

It was a pale pink.

So pale.

That was likely due to excessive blood loss. It was even bleeding right then.

Roy couldn't look away. It was as if the rest of the world had come to a stop and all that mattered was that tiny, insignificant pink object on the ground. It made him feel so absolutely sick with dread.

Because it wasn't really insignificant...

And it wasn't just an object...

It was Edward's damn tongue! Or he thought it was. It was the only thing that made sense! It was sick and wrong!

Roy looked up again, horror still very evident on his face. He was trying to keep himself level but that was hard when there was a damn tongue on the ground. His young subordinate's tongue. That bastard had cut it off!

Fullmetal was staring down at the ground. Had the man really meant it when he said Fullmetal was embarrassed by it? His tongue was... Gone!

He had every right to be frozen in horror. Roy felt numb himself. He wanted to pull his gun and end this now. Or his gloves. Those would work perfectly as well.

"Do you like it, Colonel? I tried to make it really special for The Great Flame Alchemist."

Roy was going to burn that smirk of that man's face and then he was going to burn off that man's tongue; and he was going to do it slowly! Then he would burn that man's face off!

"You let my subordinate go this instant!"

"Is something wrong? I'm just helping. Now you don't have to say he lost his tongue when someone asks because you know exactly where it is." He laughed.

"You're getting rather comfortable!"

"Oh, am I?" He chuckled. "Is it making you uncomfortable?"

"Just give me Fullmetal! I came like you wanted. And I have the money. Now give me the kid."

"Yes. Of course. Come get his leash." Edward was shaking his head almost imperceptibly. He didn't want Mustang to do it so he probably knew something was up.

Roy took a step forward. There was still roughly twenty feet between them. Roy held out his hand.

"Don't you trust me, Colonel Flame?"

"I trust you about as far as Fullmetal can throw you with one arm and a broken wrist," Roy bit back. He voice was heavily accusing.

"Oh, now, do you blame me for that? It was simply to protect myself. Edward, here, tried to hit me." He made a pouty face. "So it isn't my fault. It's Edward's."

Roy would have shot this man long ago if Fullmetal didn't have the barrel of a gun to his head. "Stop wasting my time and give me Fullmetal!" Roy snapped at him.

"Wasting time is the whole point of stalling, Colonel."

Roy flinched back. "What?"

Edward looked frightened. That drove an ice-cold spike into Roy chest.

Fullmetal didn't ever look scared.

Roy could feel something in the air. Something ominous. An unidentified threat. One that the Fullmetal Alchemist was even scared of.

Nothing came to disrupt the silence, though. Maybe Roy had been wrong.

But Edward's eyes hadn't lied to him. His whole face had screamed fear.

A weak explosion filled the air, making Roy jump up. Smoke followed, making everything hard to see as it was mixing with dust to make a thick cloud.

_Was that all? It was so small..._

Roy had already ripped the thread and pulled out his gloves, slipping them on. He was tense.

That couldn't have been what Fullmetal had been scared of.

He could see movement in the dusty, smoky air. He didn't hear Fullmetal being dragged. That had its own pros and cons.

"What was that?" Roy demanded loudly, fighting against the tickle of dust in his throat.

"Did you really think simply coming here and dropping off some money was good enough? I didn't do this for money, but I do have a prize I want, though."

There was a gentle rumble at first but then it grew.

A moment later a huge splintering crack filled the air, and debris came crashing down.

Roy dived out of the way of several falling objects. That man had left Fullmetal, so grabbing him would be much easier.

Roy coughed as everything crumbled and the roof caved in.

He felt something heavy crash into him from above. Something made contact with his head and the next thing he knew he was on the ground. As his vision his vision was fading into black at the edges he couldn't help but think, _So much for only "half-falling-apart"._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear that cutting off his tongue was never the plan. It just sort of happened while I was writing. So it even surprised me.


	5. Chapter 5

Edward dragged himself across the ground. He didn't speak. He didn't dare. He had to be as silent as possible. And it was hard to be quiet when every movement hurt another part of his body.

He kept telling himself that he couldn't allow himself to be a part of this trap.

Alchemy was out of the question as the arrays on the collar were ultra-sensitive to alchemy. Or so Gideon, his kidnapper, said after breaking his wrist.

"What a pathetic attempt at an escape."

Edward grunted as a foot came down hard on his back. He bit his tongue against a frustrated shout.

"I'm honestly impressed at how far you got, though. With a broken wrist and all."

"Get off bastard! Get your foot off of me you creepy bastard!" Edward shouted. He thrashed under the foot that pressed him down.

"First, you need to apologise for calling me a bastard. It's very unkind. And, second, you don't get to tell me what to do." Gideon pressed his foot down harder against Edward's back. "That's the beauty of being in charge. No one can boss you around. But with you, that isn't the case. You are mine. My little military puppy."

"DON'T CALL ME LITTLE, BASTARD!!! OR I'M GOING TO BEAT IN YOUR FACE!!!"

Gideon growled and pressed down hard with his foot so that Edward could hear his back cracking like he was stiff.

He bit his lip against a frustrated shout. It was more out of the pain of the foot digging uncomfortably into his spine than fear of punishment. He wasn't to keen on another broken bone, though. But he had to decide if he thought frustrating Gideon was worth it.

"That doesn't sound like my apology, Edward." Gideon glared down at Edward.

"It's not one, so that's not surprising," Edward snapped back furiously.

"Where is my apology? I'm not asking again."

"It died. Actually, it was dead long before it was even formed."

There was an audible hiss. "You think you're so smart, don't you? Well, that's not exactly true, is it? If you were really smart you wouldn't risk testing me. Seems rather idiotic to me to act that way."

"Seems like the only idiot here is you, you bastard."

Gideon lifted his foot, roared in anger, and threw the tip of his shoe into Edward's side. There was a tell-tale crack of a rib, before he reached down and grabbed Edward's jaw and slammed him against the wall. "I don't want to hear you call me that again!! I've put up with that foul tongue of yours for long enough. So apologise now!!!"

Edward shook his head. "Never to you."

Gideon glared. He forced Edward's mouth open.

Edward tried to bite him as Gideon's hand yanked his tongue. Edward was jerking his head away, but he froze when a razor-sharp blade was slipped out of Gideon's sleeve and used to slice deeply across Edward's tongue.

Edward screamed. He swallowed pouring blood.

As he screamed, Gideon finished the cut, removing the tongue entirely.

Edward choked on the blood as it gurgled in his throat. He was sucking in breaths of blood. He couldn't breathe at all. His eyes were screwed shut against the pain.

He rolled onto his side and threw up large quantities of swallowed blood. His vision was beginning to fade. He still tried to breathe but his lungs weren't cooperating. He finally slipped into the darkness that was creeping in.

He heard Gideon's voice muttering as he slipped through. "Pathetic. I'll be lucky if the Colonel wants something so useless."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will be out later today!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I posted the wrong chapter at first, so sorry for any inconvenience.

Roy felt dazed. He slipped in and out of consciousness pretty often.

He was only vaguely aware that he was being mostly dragged at the moment.

"I just wanted to get what I deserved. But, no, the Flame Alchemist is a hero. I did so much!" There was a long silence. "Big fires? That's all you need to be a hero? It was different with me because I didn't have fire. I didn't have flames. I was in more danger. Because, you know, I wasn't like you."

Roy groaned and opened his eyes.

"Oh, hello. Did someone have a good nap?"

Roy didn't process the words. He was more focused on the way his feet hurt so much. It was probably because one foot had managed to wedge itself between two pieces of debris, and the other foot had a small pipe through it. Roy stared at his feet.

"Maybe I wasn't off with that concussion. Hey, Flamy-boy? Colonel? Mustang?"

Roy scrunched up his eyes. He groaned loudly. It was long and drawn out.

He opened his eyes and was assaulted by an immediate headache. The dim light was appreciated. It was far less harsh than the bright hospital lights that temporarily left you blind.

He looked up at a red-headed man. He wasn't sure why it sparked familiarity in his eyes. He also didn't remember why he was being dragged.

"You know, that explosion worked far better than planned. You are barely putting up a fight." There was an exhausted sigh. "Fullmetal was trying to give it a way, wasn't he? I'll need to punish him for that little mistake."

 _Well, an explosion..._ Roy had no idea where he had planned to go with that thought.

"Wha... Who... arrr'ya...?" Roy was not impressed with his ability to speak.

"You must think it's rude of me not to introduce myself?" It was asked like a question, but something told Roy that he wasn't supposed to answer. "You may call me Gideon... If you are actually capable."

Roy coughed but didn't try to say anything. He probably wouldn't have even been able to say anything. He closed his eyes and tried to think.

The pain in his foot didn't go away, though.

"My fhoot... Hurs... Get it ouwt..." Roy slurred.

"I'm surprised I could understand that, or the one before, for that. Speak more clearly," the man said, chucking as Roy opened his eyes again.

Roy didn't think it was all that clever or funny. He just stared blankly at the man then closed his eyes once again.

They shot back open when he heard a squelching rip. The pipe was freed from his foot and the hole was bleeding freely.

Roy gasped and buried his face into the ground, fighting off the growing pain.

"That better, Colonel Flame?" Gideon chuckled.

Roy shook his head, feeling his headache grow.

"Yeah, didn't think so. Now let's go find Fullmetal in the rubble, how 'bout?"


	7. Chapter 7

Edward spat out the bloody rag. He glared at it in disgust.

Most of the bleeding in his mouth had stopped, thankfully. But everything still tasted of blood. He was grateful for the part of his tongue that he still had but the agony he was feeling and the thick blood he could taste was horrible.

He dragged himself painfully to rest on his knee and stump. He felt drained already.

_Maybe it is the injections..._

He winced in pain as he put too much weight on his wrist. It throbbed and he brought it close to his chest, curling in on himself as he sagged against a weak wall. He wanted to curse.

He scrunched up his eyes and furrowed his brows. On his face was a pained scowl. He was glad that he wasn't being dragged by the collar, but now his wrist was aching.

He just wanted this to be over. He needed to see Alphonse. His brother had to be worried sick.

Edward was sick with worry. That could also have been the large amounts of blood he had swallowed.

He dropped down onto the ground in a heap and breathed in deeply. He groaned and felt his stomach clench in pain.

A hand was lain on his back.

Edward could hardly care, though. As long as he wasn't going to be hurt anymore. He couldn't stand anything any more. The blafe against his tongue had made him scared. Scared in a way he didn't dare admit.

He didn't want to be scared. He couldn't be scared. He had to keep up his mask. Alphonse needed him to be a strong, big brother. Or really, it was more that Edward needed Alphonse so much.

"Edward, Major, talk to me. I've got you. Do you know where Colonel Mustang is?" It was a woman. A gentle voice, though at the same time, it was strong. The gentleness did not give off any illusion of weakness. "Edward?"

He felt a warm hand against his freezing skin.

_She's searching for a pulse..._

_It must be very weak..._

_Am I still alive...? I Feel so weak and cold..._

"Edward, I'm going to lift you."

Was Edward supposed to argue against that? Would he have been able to?

He did nothing, choosing simply to lay there sprawled on the ground.

He felt her warm arms on his body as she flipped him onto his back.

"Mmmhmmm," he groaned softly.

"Edward?" Her arms slipped under his knees and behind his shoulders. He could feel himself being lifted to her chest. She was so much warmer than him. It was nice.

He felt like he was on a cloud. A warm cloud. It hurt so much, but it was safe.

He laid limply in the woman's arms. He could feel her running but he could hardly care to think about it as long as he was safe with her. She would take him to Alphonse, right?

He didn't think she would keep him from Alphonse. She seemed too nice.

She felt safe. She was safe, wasn't she?


	8. Chapter 8

Riza was worried. Edward was a mess. He was freezing too. She would have assumed he was dead if he wasn't wheezing weakly.

She had to get him to the others. She had already radioed them.

The explosion really hadn't been expected. She had run as soon as it happened, knowing she wouldn't be able to get a shot off when the building collapsed. It wasn't clear enough. The cloud of dust was too thick to be certain of your target.

She could easily see that it hadn't been a large explosion, but it didn't have to be. The building was unsafe as it was, and with that explosion it was only sent closer to destruction.

And it had been close enough to bring the building down.

She was grateful to have found Edward alive but the blood that covered his chin and the front of his shirt was worrying.

She imagined that that was the reason his skin was so cool.

He groaned quietly in her arms.

"Almost out," She comforted him. She blinked dust out of her eyes. She breathed shallowly to avoid too much of the dust getting into her lungs.

She was trying to avoid a coughing fit that would rob her of the breaths she could manage.

As soon as they broke out of the thick dust cloud she coughed and gulped in cleaner air.

Havoc was running up to her, shouting when he saw Edward.

"Lieutenant! Take him! I'm going back in to get the Colonel."

"What happened to him?" Havoc asked, obviously having seen the blood that covered Edward's front.

"I don't know and there isn't time to explain anyway." She laid Edward in his outstretched arms.

She moved to pull away but a weak tug on her jacket stopped her. Edward's hand was still griping her sleeve.

When she had tried to pull away it had pulled at his wrist and hand.

He didn't really make a noise even though he was obviously in pain.

She could so easily pull his hand off but when Edward opened his eyelids to reveal glassy golden eyes, she froze.

His eyes slowly grew in pain. But she saw more than that. There was a whole plea in his eyes. They begged her, "Please don't leave me? Don't leave me."

"Edward, you need to let go."

Edward didn't move.

Riza peeled his wrist off and he whimpered. Something told Riza that it was only partially because of the pain. It made her stop. She sighed.

"Lieutenant Havoc, take care of him. He needs someone to keep him warm. He's freezing." She pulled off her jacket, draping it over Edward.

"I'm sorry, Edward. I can't stay."


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next part will be out a little later.

Roy's vision was swimming.

He sucked in deep breaths of dusty air. It was too thick. He coughed deeply.

A hand grabbed the back of Roy's jacket and began dragging him along behind him.

"Don't be pathetic like Fullmetal because that would make this annoying. He was so unbearably annoying that I had to make it easier for myself. I can't stand it when people insult me. I have worked hard for everything I've ever received! And I won't stand for it!" There was pure fury in Gideon's voice. He was outraged.

"Ya hurt Fullmeal..."

"You're really annoying. If you don't shut up I'll cut your tongue out too. I'll even use the same knife. We can have the same fun as Fullmetal. But that would be mildly boring, so shut up. I don't want to overuse a good thing."

"Goohd thin? D- damn you..."

"Shut up or I'll really do it." Gideon clearly wasn't lying. Not at all.

Roy continued to be dragged by Gideon. He wasn't really paying much attention to anything but his building migraine. He felt it pulsing behind his eyes.

Roy flinched as some awareness came to him. He gasped and tried to concentrate.

His hands felt bare. His gloves were gone.

_Damnit..._

He still had Riza, though. She would have called the rest of the team from their stations by now. She probably had this under control already.

He had to do his part, though.

He reached up and grabbed the wrist of the hand that was dragging him.

"Le- let me g- go," Roy hissed shallowly.

There was a long silence. "Make me."

"He doesn't have to. I will." The sound of a gunshot rang through the air.

Gideon's scream followed.

Roy felt himself being dropped. He let go of the man's wrist, smirking painfully at the sound of his First Lieutenant's voice.

Roy heard Hawkeye curse. He looked up to see what was happening.

"You'll regret that," Gideon growled, clutching his arm. Roy didn't spend to long focusing on him.

"Run, Colonel!" Riza shouted as she trained her gun on Gideon. At least, Roy hoped she did. His vision was blurry and spinning.

"I- I don't know if I can," Roy groaned. He was climbing onto his feet with much difficulty and pain. He groaned again, swaying unsteadily.

"You have to!" Riza needed him out of here. She was probably less likely to shoot him if he wasn't stumbling near where her gun was.

He tripped a get on his feet, falling to his knees with a shuddering gasp as he tried to listen to his Lieutenant.

"Go!" Riza ordered him.

"Is that really wise, though?" Gideon hissed.

Roy's eye caught a small white object on the ground as he was getting to his feet again. He looked back to see that Gideon had his gun pointed at Roy's back.

<>Oh, so that's why Riza hasn't shot him.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keep in mind that I uploaded two chapters today. Remember to read them both. And please review! 
> 
> Reviews make the writing process all the more rewarding!

Roy tensed.

He turned away. If he was about to be shot, he didn't really want to see it.

Some part of him wanted to face it head-on but another part wanted to run, which may or may not even have been possible.

He looked back to the white object. He knew what it was. He recognised it. He just had to get to it, and he also needed enough time to get it on his hand.

Riza shifted slightly.

Everything was so quiet. No one moved. It was so still. A gentle breeze was blowing more of the dusty air away.

Roy stared at the white glove. He turned slowly and almost imperceptibly towards Riza. He gave her a slight nod. She would understand it in a moment. He breathed deeply, dust tickling his throat, and dived at his glove, wincing in pain.

A gunshot echoed in the air and a bodily thump followed. Roy's brain refused to process where the thump came from, but he trusted that the bullet was from his Lieutenant's gun.

Roy had his glove on in a moment, turning back in relief to see his Lieutenant standing and her opponent on the ground.

"He's dead, sir. There is no need to be worried anymore."

Roy didn't spare Gideon another glance as he stumbled towards Riza.

"Sir, you need to rest."

"Yes, but first..." Roy had to remember what he was trying to get at. "Fullmetal."

"He's safe, Colonel. Havoc has him. They will be fixing him up," Riza assured.

"No, his tongue."

"What do you mean?" Riza asked curiously.

"Gideon cut it out."

Edward felt himself nuzzling into Havoc's warm body. He also felt himself being passed off to another person yet again to his frustration.

He was finally feeling warm and comfortable and he was being moved and put in a good deal of pain.

He wanted to tell them to let him stay in one place in comfort, but he couldn't. He also wanted water to wash the bloody taste off of the last bit of tongue he had left.

He looked up into an unfamiliar face. He jumped and tried to get away. All he could do was fruitlessly squirm in the individual's arms. He was fought against by strong arms, most likely the stranger's arms.

"Hey, Ed, stop that!" Havoc's worried voice shouted.

"Ahh, feh!" Edward tried to shout something that not even he knew what was.

The hands fighting against his escape stopped.

"What the hell? This kid doesn't have a tongue!" the unfamiliar individual shouted in horror and disbelief.

"What happened to you, Ed?!" Havoc exclaimed in distress.

"Mmmm-hhhmmm," Edward hummed in exhaustion. He reached out to where he hoped Havoc was. He wanted to be with someone he recognised.

"Lay him down." Havoc's voice sounded shaken. He was stressed. They still had to tend to Edward's injuries, though. He didn't want to find out that Edward was dying or something because he was internally bleeding or whatnot.

Havoc felt his fists clench. This explained the trail of blood down Edward's front. At least in part.

Edward curled up upon being let go. He whimpered and shivered.

Havoc set to work on Edward. He shuddered at the unnaturally cold skin.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't focus on anything but the sight of Edward's bloody mouth. The lack of tongue and the meaty flesh that remained. Those images would permanently be burned into his memories.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are nearing the end of this story. I will start another Whumptober story for the rest of the days after this one is completed.


	11. Chapter 11

The moment after- the very second after finishing with all he could do for Edward, Havoc immediately picked him up. It wasn't any mystery that Edward was cold and in pain. It was now even more clear that he was in a lot of pain seeing those injuries. He just had to wait for the ambulance to arrive. He couldn't do anything more for Edward except to hold the cold boy close to his chest to share his warmth.

Edward whimpered. He probably had no control over that. Jean doubted that Edward would ever willingly whimper in front of him. It wasn't like him, but the kid had just had his tongue taken out.

He had every right to be scared. Fear is a normal reaction in this situation.

Havoc was still shaken by seeing that. He didn't expect it in the slightest. He didn't know. And he doubted Hawkeye had either. She hadn't seemed to be acting like she knew and she would have said something if she had known. This wasn't something she would have let him find out about on his own like he had.

He hoped the Colonel would be alright. He probably already knew about the tongue and if Havoc knew anything, it was that his commanding officer would take full responsibility for not managing to save Edward's tongue.

Damnit! Havoc wished tongues had the ability to fully regenerate. Edward without a tongue was scary. He was so different. It wasn't even that scary looking at it. It was the out of character behaviour that was going to come as a result. It was the thought that Edward wasn't going to rant about absolutely nothing. It was the that he and the Colonel weren't going to have stupid agreements that made everyone's day a little better. It was everything to do with it

Edward tightly gripped Havoc's shirt. He was tired. He felt weak and exhausted. He was drained. He buried himself in what Havoc's chest.

Havoc felt bad for Edward. He wasn't going to say so, though. Edward wouldn't approve.

Havoc was brought out of his thoughts abruptly. He felt his chest shatter.

Sobs escaped the child wrapped up in his arms. He froze. He couldn't really be crying. Edward wasn't crying. That wasn't right.

But he was crying. Probably the strongest person Havoc knew was crying.

Edward's throat was gurgling as tears steamed down his cheeks.

"Hey, Ed, I've got you. You're going to be alright." Jean never would have thought this could ever be his reality.

The sound of feet approaching from behind made Havoc stiffen. He spun around to see Riza running up to him and the Colonel hobbling after her.

"Lieutenant, his-" She cut herself off to breathe. "His tongue. It's gon-"

"I know... I saw. What the hell happened?!"

The Colonel's face fell. He was hosting a guilty expression. "I don't know. I- that damn bastard threw it at me..." Roy sighed. He looked up.

Havoc knew that Mustang hadn't seen the tears yet. There was no way he that he had seen them yet. Jean was worried about when he did see them. What the hell would he do?

"Havoc, let me see Fullmetal's injuries." It was a loose order that wouldn't be enforced if Havoc refused, but he wasn't going to go against it. Mustang needed it. He needed to take stock of his subordinate's injuries.

\---

Roy's face went white when he saw the tear tracks on Edward's dusty cheeks.

Havoc was still trying to get Edward to let go of him. He didn't want to hurt him but Edward was refusing to be moved and Roy couldn't see what that bastard had done to Fullmetal the way Edward was clinging to Havoc the way he was.

Mustang would have let him stay but he felt like he had to see it. He could have avoided this. He should have done something. Maybe doing nothing was better for Fullmetal now.

"Havoc, he doesn't want to leave you. Just keep him against you. I'll call an ambulance." Mustang moved to get away but Hawkeye stopped him.

"I've had Fuery do that."

"Boss, you know, you really should rest those injuries," Havoc warned. He saw the way his superior was swaying dangerously. He most likely was fighting a nasty concussion. "You should sit down, sir. We don't want you to get anymore hurt."

"I'm fine."

"You aren't, and we can all see it. Sit," Hawkeye ordered sternly. "Edward will be fine."

Roy froze. He nearly crumpled on the ground as he sat down. "I hope so."


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Try to keep track of which chapter you've already read because I'll upload later again, and you don't want to read the wrong chapters.

Edward stirred. Everything was hurting. He was whimpering. He could hear the sound leaving his throat. It was so foreign yet familiar. He hadn't allowed that noise to come out of him in a long time.

Hands were touching him. Lots of hands and he didn't like it at all.

One hand touched his wrist. He screamed and tried to pull away, but he was tied down. Edward panicked. He tried to thrash about but whatever was tying him down was done tightly enough that he couldn't freely move.

Edward tried to shout. He was trying to beg to be freed but his voice was simply an unintelligible gargle.

Along with the straps holding him down, he felt hands on his shoulders, pressing him down.

Edward sobbed. He just wanted to be free. He didn't want to be trapped anymore. He was sick of that.

His eyes opened to blinding white lights. For a moment he thought that he was dead and that he was at Truth's gate.

He didn't want that.

It took a few moments, but then Edward realised that it wasn't at the gate but a hospital. The smells of strong chemicals was the indicator.

Was he safe? He didn't feel safe. They had him tied up. Were they bad doctors? Scientists who were there to preform tests?

Edward's whole body shook with sudden shivers.

He heard a voice calling out for more blankets. At least out of the few words he caught that's what he thought was said. That would be nice.

Edward flinched hard. He felt a slight prick in his arm.

"No!!" he tried to scream. It came out wrong, though. It sounded a lot more like "ahh!"

"He's not reacting well to the sedative," A voice called. Everything was getting clearer but then everything went fuzzy again. His vision blurred and spun.

He could hear them talking quickly among each other about setting bones.

Edward froze. He didn't want them to keep touching him after he fell asleep. He didn't want to know that they'd do something to him. But he wouldn't be able to fight back against the sleep for long. He could feel it over him like a thick covering.

Darkness was seeping in more and more. Edward's eyes would shut for a moment, before snapping back open.

He didn't want to sleep.

They would do something to him.

He didn't want them to mess with his broken body. He couldn't allow it.

Where was the team? They would save him.

He fell of the edge of awareness.


	13. Chapter 13

Roy collapsed in one of the uncomfortable hospital chairs. He felt like weights were tied around his limbs. He sagged. The doctors had rushed Edward back to get all his wounds cleaned up and have his his wrist and nose both set.

At some point one of the doctors had checked out his own injuries. And now the headache was much more dull after some painkillers.

He leaned back in his seat, letting his head loll back. He shut his eyes, blocking out the migraine that stayed right under the surface. He felt his mind drifting in and out of awareness. He would sometimes hear chatter about the waiting room and sometimes he lost all awareness. He was out of it for most of the time, though.

A voice -and it wasn't Hawkeye's- was speaking above him. He tried to focus but his concussion was hindering him from doing so well.

"I think we should maybe admit him."

Now Roy heard his Lieutenant. "That's why I called you. As I said earlier, I don't think he will give his injuries enough time to heal. He and Edward both."

"Then I'll have a room arranged for him." The was a contemplative silence. "That is... Unless you think placing them both in the same room would be best. You would be able to watch after the both of them simultaneously."

Roy didn't really understanding what was being said. He knew the words were being said and he understood them to some degree, but individually, not as a whole sentence. He was beyond lost with the sentences.

"That would be appreciated, Doctor."

"Of course. And you wouldn't mind if I sent a nurse with a wheelchair while he's still out? He won't fight like he was earlier." The was shuffling, quite a bit of it.

"Of course not. Thank you," Hawkeye replied appreciatively.

"Then I'll have a nurse bring a wheelchair and we will soon have another bed in Mister Elric's room. He will be cleared for visitors very soon as well."

Roy couldn't help the groan that escaped him.

"Sir?"

Roy didn't know how to answer. He gave a weak grunt.

"Colonel, did you hear what we said?" Hawkeye asked.

Roy thought he gave another grunt, but he wasn't really sure. He began to fade again.

\---

Roy was more awake when he was being wheeled to Edward's and his hospital room. He wasn't exactly sure how he felt about this arrangement, but it was a good way to keep an eye on Fullmetal.

Maybe Hawkeye thought the same. But at least he was getting out of doing paperwork.

When they arrived, they had to go through several guards to get to the actual room, but it was fine because it meant Edward's was well guarded and that wouldn't change. They didn't want a repeat of Edward's kidnapping.

Roy didn't need to deal with them anyway. He only had to sit there and try not to fall asleep or fall forwards out of the wheelchair, which he disagreed about needing. But he was more awake, so it wasn't too much of a problem.

Roy felt his eyes close as he leaned against his hand.

"Sir."

Roy jumped a bit, opening his eyes. "Yes, Lieutenant?"

"We're going to go in now," Hawkeye answered.

Roy nodded and began massaging his temples.

Riza pushed the wheelchair into the room. They were met by the smell of strong chemicals.

"How can anyone breathe in here?" Roy questioned out loud. "This can't be healthy for Fullmet-" He stopped when he saw the small figure on the bed. Edward was wearing an oxygen mask that looked just a little too big for him. Everything looked too big. He was just so small in the bed as he breathed in breath after breath of what was probably a medicated oxygen.

The chemical filled air was forgotten. Roy simply stared silently at the child in the hospital bed. He had too many machines hooked up to him.

Roy stood up.

"Sir? Sir, I recommend you sit down." It was more of an order than a recommendation.

"No, Lieutenant. Not right now." If she didn't let that slide then he was a dead man. He didn't know where he got the bravery to say it. But she didn't argue again.

Roy limped heavily, almost toppling over a few times when he wasn't trying to be overly careful. He drops into a chair that was placed beside Edward's bed.

Roy sighed. He didn't take Fullmetal's hand even if he had the stange urge to do so. He just sat there listening to the whistling of Edward's breaths through the oxygen mask.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry. I had school and when I went to publish this earlier, I deleted the document and for some reason couldn't revive it. So I re-wrote it for you!


	14. Chapter 14

Smoke filled the air, making it nearly impossible to breathe in a full breath of oxygen.

Roy choked on dust. The sandy, desert air made breathing even harder. It wasn't like you wanted to breathe, though. The whole area reeked of burnt flesh.

Bodies were scattered along the streets. Most were burned until they were no longer recognisable even as humans.

Roy pinched his nose as the stench grew stronger. He was supposed to used to this by now, wasn't he? He should be noseblind by now. It shouldn't bother him, but it did. It unsettled him. It disturbed him.

The most disturbing thing about everything though was the silence. It wasn't just any silence. It was a blank silence. It was like time had stopped. No fires could be heard blazing. No wind whistled. Dead silence. A perfect companion to the death and decay that filled the city. Roy only heard his own echoing steps on the empty streets. It sounded like heavy feet on a hard surface. It didn't seem right.

It stayed like this for a while. Silence only broken by his own footfalls, but then in a moment he heard something else. They were more feet, lighter ones.

"Colonel?"

Roy spun, finding exactly who the voice indicated it would be.

"Fullmetal? What the hell are you doing here?"

"Colonel," Edward repeated. This time, though, it wasn't a question. His voice droned dully.

"I asked you what you were doing here?"

"I came to visit." His voice remained dull, but Roy had still not noticed yet.

"It's dangerous here! What are you thinking?"

"Colonel, what about these corpses is dangerous?"

Roy groaned. "It's not them. It's me."

"Tell me why." Edward's facial expressions never changed. Much like a dead man's never changed.

"I just am!" Roy snapped.

Edward didn't even flinch.

"Just get out."

"No." There was finally some life in the voice. "I'm staying here!"

"Fullmetal, you need to go now. That's an order!"

"Nah, I'm not leaving so suck it up."

"I SAID GO!!" Roy didn't mean to shout. He didn't mean to snap his fingers. He didn't try to do it. He hadn't meant to.

Edward's mouth opened to reply but it was filled by Roy's flames.

"No!" It was all Roy could think to shout. He didn't want this. Fullmetal shouldn't go through this.

Edward was screaming. He had collapsed on the ground in a screaming heap as Roy's flames scorched out his tongue. Edward fell completely silent a moment later.

Roughly ten minutes passed in silence.

Edward was stumbling to his feet, his head down. He looked up, blood dripping down his chin, his eyes vacant of any liveliness.

_No, that isn't right... He shouldn't be bleeding... The wound should have been cauterized._

Edward choked on the gurgling blood. "Don't kill me, Colonel... Please."

Roy shuddered at the voice. It wasn't Edward's. it was warped and so wrong.

He gasped as his hand started to rise on its own accord.

_No! Fullmetal, run! Run! Damnit!! Work, voice, work!!_

He snapped. Flames engulfed the child. Screams filled his ears. They weren't just Edward's, though.


	15. Chapter 15

Roy woke to his own screams in his ears. He cut himself off and panted heavily.

Edward was sitting up in the hospital bed, looking down at him with an expression like... Concern?

No, that couldn't be right. He blinked and the expression was gone. Edward was now rolling his eyes.

Roy held his breath. He sighed in relief.

He didn't know what possessed him to do what he did next. Maybe it was fatherly instincts, or maybe it was just his pure relief.

Roy leapt up and hugged Fullmetal.

Edward yelped and tried to pull away. Roy held on. A moment later he released Fullmetal, realising that he probably hurt the kid a great deal.

"Fullmetal, I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking. I shouldn't have done that."

Edward looked shocked. He looked like he had just been told that he could have anything he ever could have wanted for nothing at all. It took a few minutes for his reaction to settle. He sighed shakily as if still surprised. 

"Fullmetal, I really am sorry."

Edward rolled his eyes again and smacked Roy over the head, wincing slightly. His eyes spoke as clearly as any words. "Idiot."

"How are you feeling?" Roy asked, fully expecting to decipher Fullmetal's one-handed hand motions. And also trying to lead the conversation, if it could be called that when only one person could talk, on another direction.

Edward grabbed a notebook from his other side, flipped it open, and started to write.

Roy grabbed Fullmetal's hand. "What do you think you're doing? You broke your wrist. You shouldn't be writing with that hand."

Edward's facial expression was either trying to say, "Get your hand of me you creep." or "Get your hand off me or I'll bite you." Either one was possible with Edward. Or it might even have been "How the hell am I supposed to use the other arm if I don't know where it is?"

Roy sighed and released Edward's hand.

Fullmetal lifted the notebook so that Roy could see the word written there. It was shaky, very shaky. It simply said "Fine."

"You aren't fine, so I want you to give me the truth this time." Roy sighed exhaustedly "And that's an order."

Edward looked into his eyes in frustration. He shoved the notebook into Roy's face with a frown. A yelp sounded from Edward and he pulled his wrist to the safety of his chest.

"What were you thinking?"

Edward was scowling. He glared at Roy.

"Let me see your wrist, Fullmetal." Roy held out his hand, but Edward just turned further away, shaking his head.

Roy was unsettled by how this was going. Fullmetal wasn't shouting like he should. He couldn't.

Edward sighed and laid down, back facing Roy.

"Fullmetal, I want you to tell me the truth," Roy ordered sternly. He was done with Edward's lies. He knew he wasn't fine. Roy had to admit, at least to himself, that he wasn't fine either. He was shaken and heavy with guilt.

Edward growled a little in his throat. He sat up, grabbing his notebook again and quickly scratched something down. He tossed the book at Roy and laid back down with a frustrated huff.

Roy read the note and scowled, cursing himself. The note read "I can't really TELL you anything, can I?" Edward's annoyance was clear through the way he wrote "tell" boldly and in all capitals.

"Damnit! Fullmetal, you know that isn't what I meant!" Roy shouted. "I'm not so bastardly that I'd joke about that!"

Edward turned and glared at Roy with a withering stare that said, "Could have fooled me."

_Damnit... I really am that bastardly, aren't I?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter should be the last, but it won't be unloaded today or tomorrow. And it will not be following the next prompt.


End file.
